Post-Perestroïka, baby! We are seeking young European journalists from seven Eastern European countries to participate in a new project, headed up by cafébabel Berlin. Are you a bright, young writer from Eastern Europe? Do you want to be a reporter with us? Apply right now!

So, sharing a home with refugees... how does that work out? Well enough, in Germany, where much discussion is devoted to how best to welcome new arrivals. But it isn't the people themselves that take up the most space; the real elephant in the room is the stories of trauma that the new arrivals carry with them.

Over the next seven weeks, we will be publishing cafébabel Berlin's Balkans & Beyond editorial project, showcasing original stories that beautifully illustrate life and politics in the post-Tito Balkans region. In our opening editorial, Kosovan playwright Jeton Neziraj discusses his memories of war in the region, and the continued trauma that burning books evokes in him.

His video "Who are these Germans?" has been viewed more than 600,000 times. In his small office in Friedrichshain, the Syrian refugee and Youtuber – who has lived in Berlin for two-and-a-half years – talks to us about his past in Syria, his new Youtube channel "Zukar" and his relationship with "these Germans".

We first encountered Jella Haase in Combat Girls, but she is perhaps best known for her role in the comedy Fack Ju Göhte and the aptly titled sequel: Fack Ju Göhte 2. We went to Potsdamer Platz to meet the Kreuzberg native for a short interview... 10 minutes and 10 questions for this year's German "Shooting Star".

He's back. The frumpy man who looks like a menopausal woman is back on our screens (blown up 50 times) to unabashedly, and very entertainingly push his liberal agenda. This time it is in the film Where to Invade Next?

Babel cities

Berlin

We are young journalists, bloggers and Europe enthusiasts from France, Italy, Portugal, Israel, Poland and Germany. Head over heels in love with Berlin, the pumping heart of central Europe, we write about international German culture, politics and lifestyle from a plethora of funky perspectives. Want to write, translate, film or photograph? Get in touch with the editors at berlin[at]cafebabel.com!